1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polymer-gel-coated conductor which is suitable for use as a functional electrode or a functional material. The invention also is concerned with a method of producing the polymer-gel-coated conductor and also with an electric cell making use of the polymer-gel-coated conductor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Characteristics of an electrode, particularly an electrode which is used in a liquid, are significantly influenced by the state of the surface of a conductive material from which the electrode is made.
Attempts have therefore been made to improve the characteristic of an electrode by modifying the nature of the surface of the electrode. For instance, it is a common measure to use a platinum electrode the surface of which has been modified to generate platinum black. Such a modification of the surface increases the true surface area so as to promote adsorption of a material on the surface, thus smoothing the reaction of the electrode.
In general, a metallic material can be formed to have a large surface area provided that its salt is reduced on a suitable interface. For instance, when a copper piece is immersed in a thick aqueous solution of a silver salt, a structure known as "silver dendrite". This dendritic structure provides a greater surface area for its appearance and, therefore, is considered as being suitable for use as an electrode, an adsorbent or a surface catalyst. However, the bulky dendritic structure is generally difficult to handle because the bulky dendritic structure exhibits an inferior mechanical strength. For these reasons, it has been a common measure to adopt a surface condition as a compromise of two incompatible demands: namely, demand for a greater surface area and a demand for a higher mechanical strength. A similar problem also is encountered with the case of inorganic materials.
On the other hand, organic conductive polymeric materials have been known which exhibit high levels ion adsorption/discharge efficiency, i.e., efficiency of doping-undoping process, when redoxed, i.e., when reduced and oxidized. The problem concerning the incompatibility of the surface structure and the mechanical strength is serious also in this type of material.